STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2009

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: GOV. MSG. NO. 518

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred Governor's Message No. 518, submitting for study and consideration the nomination of:

Director, Department of Taxation

G.M. No. 518

GARY SUGANUMA, for a term to expire at noon on 12-07-2026,

begs leave to report as follows:

Your Committee reviewed the personal statement and resume submitted by Gary Suganuma for service as the Director of Taxation.

Your Committee received testimony in support of the nomination of Gary Suganuma from the Office of the Governor; Department of Transportation; Department of Law Enforcement; Department of Budget and Finance; Department of Labor and Industrial Relations; Department of Public Safety; Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs; Department of Human Services; Department of Hawaiian Home Lands; Department of Land and Natural Resources; Department of Agriculture; Office of Enterprise Technology Services; Department of Finance for the County of Maui; County of Kauai; Pacific Resource Partnership; Yoshida & Associates; Watanabe Ing, LLP; Tax Section of the Hawaii State Bar Association; Capitol Consultants of Hawaii, LLP; Hawaii Regional Council of Carpenters; and numerous individuals.

Upon review of the testimony and the nominee's qualifications, your Committee recognizes that Gary Suganuma earned a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Hawaii and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of the Pacific. He served as a law clerk for two judges in the First Circuit Court and practiced as a litigation attorney for eleven years. He served as Deputy Attorney General in the Education Division of the Department of the Attorney General and has served since 2017 as the Supervising Deputy Attorney General in the Department's Tax and Charities Division. Your Committee believes that Gary Suganuma's expertise, experience, and commitment to public service make him highly qualified to serve as the Director of Taxation.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee, after full consideration of the background, experience, and qualifications of the nominee, has found the nominee to be qualified for the position to which nominated and recommends that the Senate advise and consent to the nomination.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

____________________________

DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair